Charities & VolunteeringVolunteeringAt HomeCould YOU offer advice that really makes a difference? Could YOU offer advice that really makes a difference?
By Mel Evans - 06/11/2007
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The Citizens Advice Service (CAB) has been helping people resolve their financial, legal and other problems since 1939, and now we desperately need more volunteers to offer their time, skills, knowledge and experience to help deal with the millions of problems people bring to us every year.
The CAB provides information and advice face-to-face in the bureau by phone and e-mail, or via outreach sessions in venues like GP surgeries and courts - and even in people’s homes.
Trained and qualified volunteer advisers are absolutely vital to how we help millions of people solve their problems every year. All kinds of people have the skills we need - and no specific qualifications are needed before you start. The CAB will train and support you every step of the way. All we ask is that you work well in a team and enjoy helping others.
Consider this: 80% of the people who work for Caerphilly County CAB (where I work) are volunteers, and indeed all CABs nationwide rely on volunteers. We asked some of our older volunteer workers why they do it - and these are some of their replies:
We meet new people and develop new friendships
We use our existing skills and learn new ones
We can use our knowledge and experience
We can spend time helping people
I’d used the service myself and thought ‘I could do that…’
I can put something back into the community
It makes good use of our free time
I like working as part of a team
It is good to learn more about the voluntary sector
I’m too young to retire altogether
If you would like to be able to say the same things then becoming a Citizens Advice Bureau volunteer could be for you.
Advisers help people in different ways: they don’t tell clients what to do, but explain their options and the possible outcomes of different courses of action. Clients are then encouraged to make their own decisions and act on their own behalf. We enable clients to manage their own problems by focusing on their needs as individuals.
The CAB service is free, confidential, impartial and independent, and is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age or nationality.
So are you interested in being trained as a volunteer adviser? If so, you can get an information pack and an application form from any CAB. And you can find out more about volunteering by going to the website linked below, or by phoning the volunteer hotline on 08451 264 264.
Mel Evans is Volunteer Generalist Advisor at Caerphilly County Citizens Advice Bureau